Power Crunch Bars offer a change from the typical soft mushy protein bar with the incorporation of a cookie wafer layer within it.

We recently wrote about Isomaltooligosaccharides, the “fiber” that’s used in so many protein bars lately that isn’t really what we normally consider a fiber.

So a few readers asked, what’s a popular protein bar that doesn’t have any of that?

The answer is that there’s been one protein bar all along that we’ve completely missed out on: Power Crunch Bars! These are from a brand formerly known as BNRG, but now they’re just the “Power Crunch” brand here in PricePlow.

These “wafer protein bars” are found both online and in grocery stores and WalMart, and use the same high-quality protein blend that’s in Proto Whey, a hydrolyzed whey protein isolate that can be digested by just about anyone.

Beyond the easier-to-digest protein, Power Crunch Bars differentiate with a crunchy component, courtesy of their thin wafer layer not soon many other places. It tastes like one of those delicious cookie cream wafers, but has the benefit of having protein!

We’ve the the ingredient rundown ahead, but first, take a moment to check the best deal and sign up for alerts from PricePlow:

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Power Crunch Bar Original Ingredients

Power Crunch Bars feature a rarity among protein bars we’ve been encountering lately; they’re primary protein used to formulate the bar is hydrolyzed whey isolate. Typically, we see either whey protein isolate (WPI) or a combination of isolates and concentrates to form a blend of proteins. We’ve got a blend here, but rather than start with some form of isolate, these bars start off with…

Proto Whey® Protein Blend

Power Crunch bars feature three different types of protein in their bars, headlined by Proto Whey, hydrolyzed whey.

Power Crunch Bars use a mixture of three types of protein for their bars that starts of with Micro Peptides™ from BioNutritional Research Group’s (BNRG) Proto Whey®. As you may have guessed, Proto Whey® is a form of High-DH hydrolyzed whey protein, consisting of 40% di and tripeptides.

DH is the Degree of Hydrolysis, which indicates the extent to which the protein has been broken down. The higher the DH, the quicker the individual amino acids are taken up by the body, ultimately leading to a greater anabolic response.[1,2] The team at Power Crunch really prides themselves on the quality of this protein.

Also included in the Proto Whey blend are two other dairy based proteins in the form of whey protein isolate and milk protein isolate. Although isolates and hydrolysate are more expensive from an ingredient cost / production standpoint, their ease of digestion simply can’t be beat. This is due to almost no carbs (lactose) whatsoever in the powders. Isolates and hydrolysates are also incredibly low calories as virtually all the fat have been removed as well, leaving pure and simple high protein goodness.[2]

This level of high-quality protein is for those who have issues digesting other milk-based proteins, or have immune system / digestive system troubles in general. If other protein bars have failed you in those regards, it’s worth running to the store and trying this one to see if you can stomach it!

The Rest

What better way to start the day than with a cup of coffee and a tasty treat?!

Going through the rest of the Power Crunch Bar ingredients is no small feat. And don’t kid yourselves boys and girls, these are far from the cleanest bars you’ll find on the store shelf, if that’s important to you.

No artificial sweeteners!

One good thing we can commend these bars on is their lack of artificial sweeteners, as you won’t find a trace of sucralose or Ace-K in the lot; all that’s used to sweeten the bars is a bit of sugar and stevia extract, both of which are considered natural sweeteners.

So while we we don’t consider this an “all-natural” product due to some of the added fillers, those who hate sucralose, ace-k, and artificial colors are in the clear on this one.

By the way, if you’re curious to learn a bit more about Proto Whey, check out this video supplied by BNRG that gets down and dirty into the science / advantages of hydrolysate proteins:

Power Crunch Bar Original Macros

Each Original Power Crunch Bar weighs in at 40g (1.4oz) and has the following calorie / macro breakdown:

Calories: 205 (105 from fat)

Protein: 20g

Carbs: 10g (1g sugar, 5g fiber)

Fats: 13g (6g saturated)

Flavors Available

Here’s a close up of the Wild Berry Creme flavor that’s caught our eye.

More important than the carb count, calories, or ingredient lineup is what flavors are Power Crunch bars available in and how do they taste?

Well, we can’t answer the second part of that question, yet, but we do know the full flavor lineup!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Triple Chocolate

Peanut Butter Creme

French Vanilla Creme

Mocha Creme

Cookies & Creme

Wild Berry Creme

Chocolate Mint

So many!

Wild Berry Creme definitely sounds intriguing from the list of flavors, as it’s not too often you encounter fruity, berry flavors inside of a protein bar, and it’s very good, but probably best if you buy a few at at ime and not the entire box.

We’ll have to keep our ear to the ground for some reviews and possibly get our own in-house flavor aficionados to do a full taste-panel to see how these truly fare!

Other bars and proteins from Power Crunch

Power Crunch, formerly known as BNRG (for Bio-Nutritional Research Group), is also very well known for Power Crunch Proto Whey, a hydrolyzed whey protein isolate that’s very easy to digest — and is very sweet.

Takeaway

We’re never one to turn down an affordable, good tasting protein bar, and these have been there all along throughout the nonsense of every other brand knocking off Quest Bars.

The bonus with this one is that nearly anyone can digest the protein. So from our experiences and other reviews, these fit the bill. If you like those cream cookies, but need to get your protein numbers up, then Power Crunch Bars are definitely a bar to try- and they’ve been here all along.

Mike Roberto is a research scientist and water sports athlete who founded PricePlow. He is a biohacker with extensive experience in supplementation and dietary modification, whose personal expertise stems from several "n=1" experiments done on himself while sharing lab tests.

Mike's goal is to bridge the gap between nutritional research scientists and non-academics who seek to better their health in a system that has catastrophically failed the public.